


Nine Months

by DoggyTwoShoes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Runaways (TV 2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (Just one Though.), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brief mentions of sex at the end, Characters other than the main two mainly mentioned, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, It’s Really Angsty in The first Half, It’s Really Fluffy in the Second, Nico Minoru needs a hug, Panic Attacks, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Sweet and Adoring Karolina, Temporary Character Death, The Snap Impacted the Runaways too, Time Travel, insecure!nico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 20:57:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21416566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoggyTwoShoes/pseuds/DoggyTwoShoes
Summary: They had said Thanos had killed half the world, but to Nico, he had killed the whole world.It had been Nine Months since the world ended and the sun went dark.——Trigger warnings: contemplations of suicide, depression and panic attacks.Other warnings: Temporary Major Character Death.There IS a Happy Ending.
Relationships: Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru
Comments: 6
Kudos: 98





	Nine Months

It had been nine months since her world ended. Nine months since Thanos happened. Nine months since he had snapped and taken away the greatest thing in her life.

Nine months since she lost Karolina.

—

_“Come on Nico, dance with me!” Karolina called with a giggle, twirling around and looking as radiant as ever. Nico obviously joined her, despite her own adversity to dancing, she’d do anything for her._

_“Sorry...” Nico said sheepishly with a blush after stepping on Karolina’s feet for the third time as they danced around, “I’m just not good at this Karrie...”_

_“You can get this Nico,” She said, always reassuring and confident, it made Nico blush, “I believe in you, you’re so good at everything.” That really made her blush, as she leaned in and planted a kiss on her girlfriend’s lips._

_And that was when the disaster struck. She heard screams from another room as she saw Chase running in, looking frazzled._

_“It’s...it’s Molly and Gert, they just...they vanished into dust...” He says, sounding terrified and out of breath, Nico and Karolina both looking stunned._

_“What do you mean?” Nico asks nervously, before she hears Karolina gasp behind her._

_“Nico...” She says, a slight tremble in her voice as Nico looks back in horror, seeing her hand turn to dust._

_“No...no Karrie no...” Nico cries as she sees her wonderful girlfriend and love of her life dissolve into dust, “Reform! Reform!” Nico cries, holding up the Staff of One. It glows brightly but nothing happens._

_“Bring them Back!” She cries again loudly, the staff glowing but nothing happening. “Bring her Back!” She says weakly and softly, sinking to her knees in tears as Chase walks over and embraces her in a hug, Nico feeling as though the world had gone black and white without her brightly glowing love. _

—

It had been nine months since her will to live had vanished into thin air. Eight months since any hope she had died too as Captain America with his stupid, punchable face came on TV and talked about how no one was coming back. How he had the gall to be in tears and say how everyone had lost someone but they all had to come together.

As if anyone could be feeling the way Nico was. 

—

_”It’s you and me forever Nico...” Karolina said quietly, the softest and most adorable of smiles plastered on her face as Nico couldn’t help but grin and plant a kiss on her girlfriend’s luminous cheek._

_“Forever.” Nico agreed with a nod, as she and her precious Karolina melted into an embrace, softly kissing each other on the lips, everything absolutely perfect in that moment. _

_—_

_“You did this...for me?” Nico questioned with clear shock in her voice, clearly stunned as she looked around at the scene set up in their hideout. Flowers, candlelight, soft music, and most importantly, Karolina there, wearing a gorgeous dress and looking incredible as always, the picture of a cliche romantic scene and one Nico wanted so badly._

_“Mhm, You deserve it Nico. You deserve the world.” Karolina said with a wide smile as Nico ran forward and embraced her. The way Karolina talked about her, the way that she made it seem like her darkness didn’t matter, that she really was worthy and good, Nico knew she wasn’t worthy of the love and affection from such a pure creature, but she wasn’t going to argue._

_“If you knew all of me you wouldn’t be saying that...” Nico responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck as Karolina looked at her intensely._

_“Nico, I know the real you...I know how sweet and dark and dorky you are, I know your best and worst moments, and I love all of you Nico Minoru.” Karolina said intensely, before the two women melted into a shared kiss, passion and love abound in it._

_“I love all of you Karolina Dean.”_

_“Good...” Karolina said, smiling breathlessly, her lipstick smudged and her eyes brighter than usual, “Now let’s eat, even on the run we deserve a date night...”_

—

It had been nine months since Nico’s world had gone dark with out Karolina’s bright, guiding light. Nine months since she had last talked to Chase. Nine months since she had tried to do a spell with her staff after it failed her when she needed it most. Nine months since she had started contemplating the knife in her bedside drawer.

Nico sighed, getting out of bed as any time she thought of just giving up, she thought of what Karolina would think. She’d want her to keep fighting.

‘It Doesn’t Matter!’ Nico wanted to scream. ‘Karolina is dead! Gone! She’s not coming back!’

Nico slowly sunk to her knees, her body wracked with awful sobs like when she realized her Staff couldn’t do what she wanted, like she had almost every week. The good memories could only bring comfort for so long. Then Nico was brought back into cruel reality, one where she woke up alone, without Karolina wrapped up around her, arms around her and head on her shoulder as she could smell the fragrance of her perfume and her shampoo.

Where she couldn’t feel Karolina’s soft hand in her own, comforting her after another bad mistake almost cost her a friend.

Where she couldn’t hear her velvety voice telling her how great she was and how much she believed in her, even when she knew it wasn’t true yet Karolina did.

Where she couldn’t see the radiant lights of Karolina’s powers when she had to use them or the rare times she took off her bracelet, lighting up the world and more importantly lighting up Nico’s world.

Where she couldn’t feel her soft lips on her own after she did something so small yet something so meaningful to Karolina.

Nico couldn’t take it anymore. She got up, not caring about the tears streaming down her face, marching over to her nightstand with determination, opening her drawer and pulling out the knife she had kept there.

She tested it in her hand, holding it to her wrist and thinking about just sinking it into her flesh.

Like always when she did this, she heard Karolina’s beautiful voice in her head.

‘No Nico, don’t do it!’ She heard desperately, she could hear the tears slicking the imaginary voice in her head, ‘The world needs you! It’d be so much worse without you!’

“SHUT UP!” Nico roared, openly crying now from everything, still holding the knife, “You’re dead! Just like half the world! You don’t get to tell me what to do!” 

At least if she did this, there was a chance Nico could see Karolina again, in whatever life there was after death.

Of course that was unlikely, because Karolina was so bright and so pure and good, she was destined for heaven’s light. While Nico knew that she had done to much to be considered a saint.

But being one of the damned would be better than this new tenth circle of hell where she had to live without Karolina.

So with shaking hands and arms she started to lower the knife to her wrist, but before she could make contact, her arm hit her bookshelf, causing her to cry out and drop the knife on the ground, a book hitting her head as it fell open on the bed.

“OW!” Nico cried, rubbing the back of her head as she turned to glare at the offending book before tearing up as she saw it. It was the Thesaurus Karolina had bought for her to maximize her staff. It was another memory of her thoughtful and amazing girlfriend, and how much she couldn’t live without her.

As she reached to pick it up and close it, one word caught her eye. _’Time.’_

Nico stopped with a gasp, could it have really been that simple and easy. Had she spent nine Karolina free months for nothing? She could just send her spirit back in time and live out a couple years of bliss with her...

Or...she could go back and stop Thanos. She had never actually said the word ‘Die’ while holding the staff, but she could finally have a worthy target, she could end him, she could save the world and everyone...

Maybe she could be worthy of Karolina for once too...

So with shaking hands she went and grabbed her staff, the one she hadn’t used since it had failed her in the moment she needed it most.

One way or another, success or failure, she’d be using the ‘die’ spell today.

“Please don’t fail...not this time...not again...” Nico muttered, tears still glistening in her eyes as she picked up the staff, if this didn’t work...it’d be enough to truly send her over the edge.

“Send me back!” Nico called shakily, closing her eyes tightly, unable to look at what would probably be another failure of her damned staff.

—

“Come on Nico, dance with me.” Nico heard a pleasantly familiar voice, one that had been in her dreams so much the past nine months, call out with a giggle. She opened her eyes to see Karolina, more beautiful than she ever remembered, twirling around on the dance floor like she had remembered on that awful day.

Nico responded by surging forward with tears and pressing her lips to Karolina’s like it was the last time, which, if this failed, it would be.

“Not that I mind this, but why the sudden burst of affection?” Karolina asks with a giggle, pressing her forehead to Nico’s. Nico wanted to savor this, but if she wanted to make it last, she’d have to move quickly, she only had a couple minutes.

“Karrie...do you trust me?” Nico asks softly, sadness and joy and so many other things still in her voice.

“With everything.” Karolina responds, clear honesty and admiration in her tone.

“That might be what’s at stake...” Nico says quietly in fear, grabbing her staff. “Carry me to Wakanda!” She calls, the world and Karolina’s shocked face fading into nothingness as she lands in lush green jungles, quickly trying to gain her bearings as she sees a man with bent wings on the ground.

“Hey...” He says with a cough, “Run kid...this isn’t safe for you...” He adds weakly, Nico ignoring him as she runs towards the path of chaos, seeing a large purple mountain of a man standing over a woman in a red coat.

“But now is no time to mourn...” She hears a deep, haunting voice say, “Now is no time at all.” He then raises a golden gauntlet, the one Captain America had shown on TV but with five stones, and a green glow engulfed his wrists.

Nico knew this man must be Thanos, and she pointed her staff, watching as an Android of a man reformed. “Die.” She intones in a soft voice, watching as her spell did not fail this time, the purple man collapsing over.

“What the...what the hell...” She heard the girl say, the one in the red, looking over the android man. She must be the Scarlet Witch, and she was looking for potential threats.

“What happened?” She heard a gruff voice say, Thor himself, an actual Norse God, she’d fangirl later, landing with a glowing axe, looking stunned at the scene.

“Bring me Karolina.” Nico also intones quietly after a minute, she knew she’d never need that as much as she did in that moment, after nine long months and thirty second of reconciliation at most.

“Nico...what happened...” Nico heard Karolina question confused, before Nico tackle hugged her with a giggle of her own, clearly stunning Karolina as she never giggled, but she could make an exception, finally getting to see the most beautiful creature in existence properly after nine months.

“Nico!” Karolina calls with a giggle as she feels her girlfriend embrace her, she was stunned by the unusual closeness Nico was exhibiting but loving it all the same.

“I did it! I really did it!” Nico says with a full blown laugh, taking a minute to scan every little detail of her love’s radiant face, before burying her head in her neck and embracing her.

“Nico, not that I don’t love this, but what did you do?” Karolina asks, laughing too, the sound sounding like sunshine itself, something Nico had been hard pressed to find the last nine months, but now something she was experiencing in full.

“Yeah...we’d like to know that too.” Nico heard a voice say sheepishly behind her and Karoline, looking up to see Steve Rogers, Captain America, the person she had imagined punching for the last nine months for telling her that Karolina was gone and for failing to keep her safe. She also saw the Black Widow, Thor, Scarlet Witch, The Vision, War Machine, The Falcon, and more. All personal heroes of hers. And she couldn’t care less, instead turning back to focus on the woman she had practically tackled in a hug, the one person she had done this for, the one reason she came back.

—

Nico somehow ended up in a throne room surrounded by a king and his sister, as well as their general, demanding how she had gotten in their country. In a throne room with the Avengers and Rogue Avengers demanding how she had got there and what she had done, as it couldn’t be a coincidence that she had appeared right as Thanos had keeled over dead on the eve of his grand triumph.

She also had Karolina at her side, as she was pretty sure everyone was a bit afraid of her, allowing her to have luxury arrangements and have her girlfriend there for her ‘questioning.’

So she told them everything, telling them of how Thanos had won, how the world had plunged into despair, how half of everyone had died, how she had lost Karolina. How her staff had failed when it mattered most.

Throughout it all she felt her comforting presence at her side, hearing her radiant girlfriend’s gasps at different points in her story, her eyes with tears of sadness as she heard both what Nico was saying and what she kept covered up. Later she’d tell her everything, but not now in front of all these famous heroes but strangers all the same.

At the point when she talked about the Thesaurus hitting her head to show her the way, she didn’t mention what had led to that of course, but she had to mention it, she heard Karolina giggle, Nico turning to look adoringly at her wonderful girlfriend.

“Your gift saved the world Karrie...” Nico said in a soft tone, only for Karolina’s ears as she saw her girlfriend look embarrassed as her face lit up, for once having nothing to do with her powers.

“_cough_...” Nico heard Captain America interrupt her moment with Karolina, reigniting the urge for her to punch him in the face, “As you were saying...”

Nico continued her story after a short kiss shared with Karolina, both to spite the interruption and because she had nine months of that to make up for.

She talked about how she had landed in their old hideout and how after a short moment with Karolina, she had used her staff to teleport to Wakanda, remembering what she had heard from the Captain’s briefing on TV.

Sam, as she learned the man was named, blushed as she recounted how he had told her to run, before she said she saw Thanos doing something, and pointed her staff at him, just saying the word die. It was then that she also explained how her staff worked, too emotionally exhausted to think about lying.

“Well then...I think you did something incredible...” Captain America says, actually praising her, looking impressed.

“Agreed Captain, she showed the bravery of a Valkyrie.” Thor says, causing Nico to blush, usually only Karolina truly praised her. Having these larger than life heroes do it was something else. 

“She did what we couldn’t.” The Scarlet Witch says, looking unbelievably grateful to Nico while Karolina just beamed at her.

“She saved us all...in more ways than one.” The Black Widow agrees, looking incredibly impressed with the gothic witch.

“Yeah, kid...Nico...I think you would be perfect as an Avenger.” The Captain said, stunning her. Her, an Avenger? She wasn’t even a hero, and these people wanted her to stand with them?

“Can I...can I think about this?” Nico stutters out, standing up with Karolina’s hand in hers.

“Of course. Take your time.” She heard The Falcon say, as one of the King’s Guards stood up with them.

“She will show you to your rooms here in the palace, feel free to stay tonight.” She heard the heavily accented voice of King T'Challa, The Black Panther, say, not that Nico could focus on that.

Because she had Karolina’s head on her shoulder, she could smell her shampoo again and basked in it’s calming aroma, the one purely associated with her, as both young women followed the guard to what was the most expensive and luxury room Nico had ever seen, and she had lived in a mansion before.

As soon as the guard had left and the door was closed, Karolina embraces her in a hug, wrapping her arms around her as Nico sighs and leans her head into Karolina’s shoulder, for once feeling at peace after the nine worst months of her life.

“You were so brave...so strong, you were a real hero, my hero, everyone’s hero.” Karolina praises, not a hint of dishonesty or exaggeration in her tone as Nico blushed red.

“You really think so?” Nico says softly and sounding small, “I know I did something good..._for once_...but I’m not a hero.” She adds, as Karolina frowns and grips Nico’s face in her hands, forcing her to look into her steady bright blue eyes, looking over the beautiful face she had missed so much for nine months.

“Nico, you are so much more than a hero. Even before this.” Karolina assures firmly, sounding confident of every word and so utterly proud and loving of Nico it made her heart want to burst. “You are so brave, kind, strong, you were already the best hero. But you saved everyone, you saved the world, no one else, you.”

“Only because of you. If you hadn’t been one of the ones killed because of this, I don’t think I would’ve done this, because I would’ve been afraid to mess it up worse and lose you.” Nico says, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes as Karolina leans in and softly kisses her, breaking after a few seconds.

“I know you would’ve Nico, because I know how great a person you are, everyone does now. I know that if you had figured out how to do it even if I was there, you would’ve come back and would’ve saved everyone anyway.” 

Nico doesn’t respond, instead leaning in and capturing Karolina’s lips with her own again, this kiss lasting much longer and having much more passion involved as Nico slowly runs her tongue along the love of her life’s lips, finally being able to have her in her arms after nine months and never wanting to let her go.

“Nico...” Karolina softly says, looking adoringly at her girlfriend as Nico’s expression looks a mirror image, both women left breathless from that.

“Yes Karrie...” 

“Take me to bed...make love to me...” Karolina responds, Nico blushing brightly as she slowly carries her girlfriend into the luxurious bed that was in the room, slowly kissing her again as clothes started to be shed.

It was tender, loving, and perfect, everything Nico had ever wanted from a first time with Karolina, not that she thought about it too much with her, and left both women utterly breathless as they lay on top of each other.

And Nico knew in that moment that everything had worked. That it wasn’t all a dream or a post death hallucination. Because she couldn’t dream up something that real, that incredible, as Karolina’s perfect body on top of her own, as laying there with her in a blissful aftermath. She knew she couldn’t dream up the pure admiration in her eyes, or the way Karolina looked at her like she had hung the stars themselves, just for her.

And Nico knew that getting over the memories would be a process. But with Karolina by her side, it was one she could complete. And one that would end well. She finally had her happy ending, and her life with Karolina was just beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, this was a plot idea that I had after I saw someone asking what would have happened if Karolina was snapped and reading a fic where she was but without a happy ending. I wrote this as a way of thinking of a way for a happy ending without waiting the five years.


End file.
